With the playoffs around the corner, and less than 30 games left in the regular season, one of the least-appreciated deadlines in the NBA is upon us. Mark it down on your calendars people, because this is Where Stephon Marbury Happens. For any player who has spent time on an NBA roster this season, they must by be waived by March 1 in order to be eligible for the playoffs with another team. That means you Big Z and Drew Gooden, so keep those negotiations moving. Read More »

Two games. If you were in the office pool to get action on the first time Tracy McGrady would start showing signs in New York of why the Rockets never trusted him enough to give him a featured role this season, whoever had “two games” gets the pot. In the second half of last night’s home loss to Milwaukee — the Knicks’ seventh L in a row, by the way — McGrady was noticeably limping around. After the game Mac admitted his knee had taken some punishment and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to play against the Celtics tonight … On top of the knee issues, McGrady got his first taste of what it’s really like to be a Knick in the 21st century. Read More »

When the Blazers/Clippers deal for Marcus Camby became official earlier today, it may have signaled the end of Ricky Davis‘ NBA career.

Having acquired Travis Outlaw to go alongside wing players Eric Gordon, Rasual Butler, Al Thornton and Mardy Collins, as well as backup PG Steve Blake, the Clips needed to clear room on the roster and waived Ricky Buckets. The 12-year vet had made two starts for an injury-racked L.A. squad this year, and was averaging 4.4 points in 14 minutes a night, a big drop-off for a guy who used to put up 19-20 points a night. Read More »

Unlike some nights when you have to choose between five different games on League Pass, one on NBA TV and reruns of “Jersey Shore,” tonight was one of the few instances where everything came together. As the League’s top two teams and top two players squared off, all eyes were on Kobe vs. LeBron, and the League’s No. 1 and 1a did not disappoint … The mood was set before the jump, as “O Fortuna” from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana blasted from the speakers. Aside from perhaps “The Ride of the Valkyries” when the helicopters attack the village in Apocalypse Now, there’s nothing more epic … Read More »

Beast of the Night: Elton Brand finally emerged and put up 19 points, 11 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, 6 blocks and just 1 turnover while shooting 47 percent (8-17) from the field and 75 percent (3-4) from the line. This was vintage Brand and owners who have remained patient or bought low on him have to be giggling with joy right now. He’s not out of the woods just yet, but things look are looking way up for Brand and his owners today. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Manu Ginobili was absolutely rabid last night, exploding for 36 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocks, while nailing 6 threes and turning the ball over just once in just 32 minutes of work. He shot 53 percent (8-15) from the field and 88 percent (14-16) from the line. His owners have to be praying that Tim Duncan and Tony Parker take their sweet time recovering on the sidelines. Read More »

I get a lot of emails every day, and this video was one of them. This is all it said: “lol i dont even know what to say about this…but figured u could think of something.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of what to say either. Hilarious!

Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…

Added: Blake Griffin, Rasual Butler, Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, Kareem Rush

Lost: Zach Randolph, Mike Taylor, Fred Jones, Paul Davis Read More »

It’s too bad YouTube didn’t exist back in the year 2000. If it did, I guarantee a lot more people would know who Eddie Robinson is. E-Rob’s hops were straight up ridiculous. He was the sixth man for those Charlotte Hornets teams that boasted guys like Baron Davis, Ricky Davis and Eddie Jones. Even with all those high risers on the squad, E-Rob’s crams might have been the nastiest. Night in and night out, he was good for at least two Sports Center worthy crams. My favorite was his signature showboat dunk: a self alley-oop on the fastbreak (see vid below). Read More »

Back for one more. As I’ve covered before, this isn’t a typical “best players” list. If you see a high school kid ranked higher than an NBA All-Star here, nobody’s saying the prep is better than the pro. Instead, I’m looking at the whole picture: Who had an overall better season? Pound-for-pound, who made the biggest impact on their level? Who made the biggest mark on the entire game of basketball? Who made this season his own? That said, here are my Top 10 — not “10 best” — small forwards from the ‘08-09 season… Read More »